Patty in Paris eBook

“I don’t know exactly; it depends on uncle’s
plans; but probably about January.”

“Oh, yes, we shall surely be here then, and
probably living in a home of our own. Of course,
I mean a temporary home, but not a hotel. I hope
you will come to see us.”

“Indeed I will. I wish we could have seen
more of you this week, but uncle has rushed us about
sightseeing so fast that there was no time for social
calling.”

“We saw Bert Chester and his crowd,” said
Patty; and then she told about the day at Versailles.

“What a lark!” exclaimed Guy; “I
wish I had been along. But you must go somewhere
with us when we’re here in January, won’t
you?”

“I’d like to,” said Patty, “but
I can’t promise. It all depends on the
Farringtons. I’m their guest, so of course
I’m under their orders.”

“Well, it won’t be my fault if we don’t
have some fun when we come back here,” declared
Guy, “and I shall do all I can to bring it about.”

When they left the museum it was getting late in the
afternoon, and Lisette decreed that her young ladies
must go home at once. The Van Ness crowd raised
great objection to this, but Lisette was obdurate,
and calling a cab, she ushered the girls in, and then
getting in herself, gave the order for home.

Patty couldn’t help laughing at the serious
way in which Lisette took care of them, but Mrs. Farrington
told her it was quite right, and she would have been
displeased had Lisette done otherwise.

“You don’t quite understand, my dear,”
she said kindly, “the difference between the
conventions of Paris and our own New York. It
may seem foolish to you to be so carefully guarded,
but I can’t quite explain it to you so you would
understand it, and therefore I’m going to ask
you to obey my wishes without question, and more than
that, when Lisette is temporarily in charge of you
to obey her.”

“Indeed I will, dear Mrs. Farrington,”
said Patty heartily; “and truly I wasn’t
rebelling the leastest mite. I’m more than
ready to obey you, or Lisette, either, only it struck
me funny to be put into a cab, like babies in a baby-carriage
by their nursemaid.”

“You’re a good girl, Patty, and I don’t
foresee a bit of trouble in taking care of you.
To-morrow I shall feel better, and I’ll go shopping
with you girls myself, and perhaps we may have time
to look in at a few other places.”

So Patty danced away, quite content to take things
as they came, and sure that all the coming days were
to be filled with all sorts of novelties and pleasures.

Their purchases had been sent home, reaching there
before they did themselves, and Patty immediately
fell to work on the albums, placing the cards in the
little slits which were cut in the leaves to receive
them.

The days flew by like Bandersnatches. Patty herself
could not realise what became of them. She wrote
frequently to the people at home and tried to include
all of her young friends in America in her correspondence,
but it seemed to be impossible, and so finally she
took to writing long letters to Marian, and asking
her to send the letters round to the other girls after
she had read them.